Ex-Nazi: I Wouldn't Hide 'Em

GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS
June 24, 1982 A4
Ex-Nazi: I Wouldn't Hide 'Em
By LARRY KING
Staff Writer
WINSTON-SALEM — A man
who says a federal agent urged him
to illegally harbor suspects after the
1979 Klan-Nazi shootings in Greensboro testified before a federal
grand jury Wednesday afternoon.
Former Nazi Roger L. Shannon
said he told the panel that federal
agent Bernard Butkovich called him
within alew hours after the Nov. 3,
1979 shootings that left five Com-
munist Workers Party members
dead.
Shannon said But'kovich "was
wanting me to harbor the fugitives
and all. He wanted me to hide era
out if they came by." Shannon said
he refused. *
Butkovich, an undercover agent
with the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, had infiltrated Forsyth County Nazi ranks a few
months before the Nov. 3 shootings.
Both the CWP and the Klan and
Nazis point to Butkovich as a sign of
government complicity in the shootings. He attended part, nf a Nov 1
Nazi meeting, in which plans for the
caravan were discussed. There has
been no evidence to date", however,
that Butkovich encouraged or conspired to commit any violence.
Butkovich testified earlier this
month before the grand jury that is
investigating whether federal civil
rights laws were violated in the
shootings. The group has heard testimony from 58 known witnesses in
the 23 days it has met since being
impaneled March 22.
Now a resident of Clemmons in
Forsyth County, Shannon said he
lived on a farm in Davie County at
the time of the shootings. He was a
member of the National Socialist
Party of America, a neo-Nazi organization, but said he quit the group
after the shootings. He did not participate in the Nov. 3 Klan-Nazi caravan to Greensboro.
In July 1980, Shannon was among
a group of Nazis whose statements
were included in a Greensboro Record story that publicly revealed
Butkovich's identity for the first
time. Shannon's account of his
grand jury testimony Wednesday
repeated much of what he said two
years ago.
During Nazi meetings prior to jjip
Nov. 3 shootings, Shannon 3aid Butkovich suggesr.pH t,he_assassinatTon
oTWinston-Salem Klan lparW '
Grady, with whom the Nazis were
then feuding. He said Butkovich
also urged members of the group to
purchase illegal automatic weapons.
In his NOV. 3 Pa[1 frprn ftnH;^^
Shannon said the agent urged him
also to hide Butkovich's AR-15 rifle,
which Shannon believed had been
converted into an illegal automatic
weapon.
"I asked him why he wanted me
to harbor a legal gun," Shannon told
reporters. "He said he was just nervous about it. That was two things
in one phone call where he tried to
get me to break the law." Shannon
said he refused both requests and
never again heard from Butkovich.
ATF officials sav an internal in
vestigation cleared Butkovich of any
wrongdoing, but all public requests
Tor copies of their report have been
"refused. Butkovich has consistently
declined to comment, citing bureau
policy on matters of pending litigation.
Shannon said he told the grand
jury that he suspected Butkovich
was an agent from the beginning.
"This guy was transparent, really," he told reporters after his testimony. "He was the most violent-
talking person in the group. He had
a camera all the time. He took more
pictures.. .I'll bet the government
spent $100 on film."
Shannon said Butkovich visited
his Davie County farm several
times, and said papers m his car
were always arranged in the same
way, that the dirt on the early-'70s
model Ford never changed and that
the car always smelled musty, as if
it had mostly been in storage.
During Butkovich's visits, Shannon said, he and the agent fired
guns at targets on the farm. He said
Butkovich always shot from military
crouches that suggested police or
military training.
Shannon said the Nazis also
checked Butkovieh's professed address and occupation, and found
both to be false. He said the Nazis
didn't confront the agent because
"we were just playing with him."
The Nazis never planned to fire
weapons in Greensboro, Shannon
said. "They thought there might be
a free-for-all or a fistfight, but that's
all," he said. f.
Still, Shannon said he stayed -
away from the CWP's "Death to the '•'
Klan" rally because he feared there
might be trouble.
Others to testify were Charles •
Findley of Winston-Salem, a former ,;
Nazi; Allen Mason of Winston-Salem, a former Klansman, and an uni- '
dentified witness who refused to "•*
speak to reporters.
Findley rode in the second car of '
the Klan-Nazi caravan, but fired no
weapons and wasn't charged. He •
said he expected no violence that :
day. He heard shots, he said, but '
didn't witness anyone firing a gun.
Mason witnessed a July 1979 con-
frontation between the Klan and '"
CWP at the Rowan County town of '
China Grove.
The fourth witness was a blind •
man whose scalp, face and arms appeared to be severely burned.
Sources identified him as a former'
Klan associate whose wife poured-
acid over his face as he slept'following a recent domestic dispute in '
Catawba County.
i

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GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS
June 24, 1982 A4
Ex-Nazi: I Wouldn't Hide 'Em
By LARRY KING
Staff Writer
WINSTON-SALEM — A man
who says a federal agent urged him
to illegally harbor suspects after the
1979 Klan-Nazi shootings in Greensboro testified before a federal
grand jury Wednesday afternoon.
Former Nazi Roger L. Shannon
said he told the panel that federal
agent Bernard Butkovich called him
within alew hours after the Nov. 3,
1979 shootings that left five Com-
munist Workers Party members
dead.
Shannon said But'kovich "was
wanting me to harbor the fugitives
and all. He wanted me to hide era
out if they came by." Shannon said
he refused. *
Butkovich, an undercover agent
with the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, had infiltrated Forsyth County Nazi ranks a few
months before the Nov. 3 shootings.
Both the CWP and the Klan and
Nazis point to Butkovich as a sign of
government complicity in the shootings. He attended part, nf a Nov 1
Nazi meeting, in which plans for the
caravan were discussed. There has
been no evidence to date", however,
that Butkovich encouraged or conspired to commit any violence.
Butkovich testified earlier this
month before the grand jury that is
investigating whether federal civil
rights laws were violated in the
shootings. The group has heard testimony from 58 known witnesses in
the 23 days it has met since being
impaneled March 22.
Now a resident of Clemmons in
Forsyth County, Shannon said he
lived on a farm in Davie County at
the time of the shootings. He was a
member of the National Socialist
Party of America, a neo-Nazi organization, but said he quit the group
after the shootings. He did not participate in the Nov. 3 Klan-Nazi caravan to Greensboro.
In July 1980, Shannon was among
a group of Nazis whose statements
were included in a Greensboro Record story that publicly revealed
Butkovich's identity for the first
time. Shannon's account of his
grand jury testimony Wednesday
repeated much of what he said two
years ago.
During Nazi meetings prior to jjip
Nov. 3 shootings, Shannon 3aid Butkovich suggesr.pH t,he_assassinatTon
oTWinston-Salem Klan lparW '
Grady, with whom the Nazis were
then feuding. He said Butkovich
also urged members of the group to
purchase illegal automatic weapons.
In his NOV. 3 Pa[1 frprn ftnH;^^
Shannon said the agent urged him
also to hide Butkovich's AR-15 rifle,
which Shannon believed had been
converted into an illegal automatic
weapon.
"I asked him why he wanted me
to harbor a legal gun," Shannon told
reporters. "He said he was just nervous about it. That was two things
in one phone call where he tried to
get me to break the law." Shannon
said he refused both requests and
never again heard from Butkovich.
ATF officials sav an internal in
vestigation cleared Butkovich of any
wrongdoing, but all public requests
Tor copies of their report have been
"refused. Butkovich has consistently
declined to comment, citing bureau
policy on matters of pending litigation.
Shannon said he told the grand
jury that he suspected Butkovich
was an agent from the beginning.
"This guy was transparent, really," he told reporters after his testimony. "He was the most violent-
talking person in the group. He had
a camera all the time. He took more
pictures.. .I'll bet the government
spent $100 on film."
Shannon said Butkovich visited
his Davie County farm several
times, and said papers m his car
were always arranged in the same
way, that the dirt on the early-'70s
model Ford never changed and that
the car always smelled musty, as if
it had mostly been in storage.
During Butkovich's visits, Shannon said, he and the agent fired
guns at targets on the farm. He said
Butkovich always shot from military
crouches that suggested police or
military training.
Shannon said the Nazis also
checked Butkovieh's professed address and occupation, and found
both to be false. He said the Nazis
didn't confront the agent because
"we were just playing with him."
The Nazis never planned to fire
weapons in Greensboro, Shannon
said. "They thought there might be
a free-for-all or a fistfight, but that's
all," he said. f.
Still, Shannon said he stayed -
away from the CWP's "Death to the '•'
Klan" rally because he feared there
might be trouble.
Others to testify were Charles •
Findley of Winston-Salem, a former ,;
Nazi; Allen Mason of Winston-Salem, a former Klansman, and an uni- '
dentified witness who refused to "•*
speak to reporters.
Findley rode in the second car of '
the Klan-Nazi caravan, but fired no
weapons and wasn't charged. He •
said he expected no violence that :
day. He heard shots, he said, but '
didn't witness anyone firing a gun.
Mason witnessed a July 1979 con-
frontation between the Klan and '"
CWP at the Rowan County town of '
China Grove.
The fourth witness was a blind •
man whose scalp, face and arms appeared to be severely burned.
Sources identified him as a former'
Klan associate whose wife poured-
acid over his face as he slept'following a recent domestic dispute in '
Catawba County.
i